Yards Extra Special Ale

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Draught
Aroma: malted barley, caramel, noble hops
Appearance: clear dark amber colour, head lasts a few minutes and is light tan in colour, lacing is all the way down the glass
Mouthfeel: medium bodied, over carbonated, very crisp
Flavour: There is a nice balance between the malt and hops in this beer, at least well done for an American take on the old British style
Overall: As I said, this is a very well balanced take on the British pub style that is so well loved

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pours with an amber body topped by a thin to medium thick head with a good amount of lacing left behind. It’s sweet and malty with a fruity, floral note as well as a touch of toffee. Medium bodied and smooth.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 3

Damn it. What's up with the carbonation with these Yards' beers....? This is the second of two bottles I've had that was *completely* and *totally* out of control, CO2-wise.

Now, I know I can't be the only one who knows a few tricks to calm down a rather rambunctious foamy head of a beer -- including washing out the glass with cold water right before pouring the bothersome beer, and/or the ol' "whip your finger on your forehead, then swrill it in the head of the misbehaving beer". But neither of these dumb (but effective) tricks will calm down the CO2 levels in the beer itself. And all that carbonation only ends up in your gut, taking up space that could be used for more beer...!

But..., after all is said and done, and you can get past the fact that this beer is damn-near a bottle bomb of CO2, what does the beer actually have to say for itself...?

Unlike it's bigger-and-badder cousin, the Yards India Pale Ale, this beer seems a little less assertive in the flavor profile. Perhaps the former is a bigger/badder version of the later, but I kinda doubt it. Rather, the "ESA" seems to be it's own special case -- it's own little problem child, if I can blunt.

Foamier, even more excessively carbonated, this 6.3%ABV problem child is even harder to figure out that it's 8.0%ABV kin. Plowing through all the CO2, this beer does show some promise. Some nice earthy hoppy notes, for example. And some interesting things going on in the finish.

But if ever a case could be made to keep a beer in a firkin, and not bottle it for wide-spread comsumption, one only need point to this mess of a beer. A perfectly innocent and decent enough beer, ruined with excessive amounts of CO2. Damn near unfinishable... :(

Music: Dozer's "Call It Conspiracy"
//TB

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

This fine ale is a blessing to the tongue, & a prayer to the throat. Hand pumped it keeps about a 1/4 inch of head throughout its consumtion. This seems to lock the flavor into the beer beneath the froth. As it slidea across your palate it fills your olfactory with wonderful hints of spice & malt. Three cheers for Yard's ESA.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Beer poured golden yellow brown color. Aroma and taste were not pleasant. Very bitter and mediciny tasting and weak flavor on top. I wouldn't drink another of these if you paid me.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

04.04.04 Tap at Citizen's Bank Park, Philly, PA. According to Nancy Barton at Yards, this is being called Philly Extra at the park, but is actually this beer. Pours a darker amber color with a thick head that lasts nicely (even in the ballpark plastic cup) with some lacing. Nice floral hops on the nose, fruity, banana, citrus. Flavor was not as malty as I expected (based on location) but was a nice surprise. Well balanced for sure. Bursting with flavor but nothing too dominant. Sadly, it sold out before the seventh in the first game of the weekend.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

I missed the chance to have this on cask in Philadelphia, so I brought home a bottle of it to try later. Tasting this makes me wish I had gone to the Standard Tap and dared the hangover gods. This is good. Heavily hazed brown-amber with a big airy head that fades slowly. The aroma is heavily fruity with apricots, grapefruits and plums riding over the malt. The flavor turns maltier with a strong toasty presence supported by a mild bitterness and that great fruitiness. Tasty beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Visited the brewery this past summer. Tastes much better on draft than in the bottle. Just hoppy enough for me without going overboard. Slightly sweet tinge. Nice balance. Picked up a keg of this stuff for Christmas/NFL playoffs. Worth the 100 mile drive from NYC to Philly.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Yards Extra Special Ale poured a reddish body with a light tan head with minimal lacing. The taste was sweet and slight tart with an almost bitter aftertaste. A decent beer but far from extra special, unless of course this was delivered to the bar on a short bus.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 8

Murky brown, bullwinkle sized off white head. It has a little bit of tingle on the roof of your mouth. It starts out wanting to be hoppy, but finishes crisp. It went very well w/ the lamb stew I'd made.